Reviews by ThinkAgain:

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341 mL bottle from the BC Craft Brewers Guild sampler currently available in LCBOs (packaged May 23 2013). English, American, whatever, I'm in the mood for an IPA and when I opened the sixer, this one immediately caught my eye. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a translucent amber-orange colour, topped with one finger of frothy, soapy pearl-white head. Good retention; it sticks around for more than a few minutes, leaving swaths of sticky lacing stuck to the glass, and eventually culminating in a smooth cap and foamy collar. The aroma is enticing, with hints of juicy pink grapefruit, floral hops and tropical fruit, along with some underlying caramel sweetness. Not as pungent as I'd like, but an attractive bouquet nonetheless.

Promising flavour at first, with tropical fruit and a citrusy combo of orange peel and grapefruit pith dominating initially. Quite floral, with an undercurrent of caramel sweetness and biscuity malts that never quite manage to supercede the hop bill, although coming close at times. Resiny, almost herbal in the finish, leaving behind a bitter, pithy aftertaste lingering on the palate. Medium-bodied, with mild carbonation and a smooth texture that lends itself to fairly high drinkability given the 6.5% abv.

Final Grade: 3.61, an acceptable B. I am a big fan of both American and English IPAs, and while this one's hop flavours do tend toward those found in the former style, the smoothness, balance and quaffability of Russell IP'eh seem decidedly more English in nature. This bottle is pushing 4-5 months of age and is still drinking nicely, but I'd be interested in trying it fresh (or on-tap). This is a solid English-style IPA that I'd happily drink again, but not a stand-out.

Single bottle poured into an English pub glass. A nice ruddy amber color with a finger of light beige head. Aroma is rich malts, nuts and caramels or brittle toffee, tree sap, clover, a little honey, lemon rind and orange marmalade. A well-executed English IPA with Cascade hops emergent in the flavor profile. Hybrid model I suppose. The citrus preserve flavor (with a lemon rind sourness) adds an extra layer to the malts, as on the nose but with a developing light molasses note as well. Orange/bergamot note note recalls Earl Gray tea. More bitterness in the finish than is typical for an English IPA but there are no prominent tropical or pine flavors to skew this too far away from expectations. Low carbonation. Tea-like tannins become more salient over time. Nice mouthfeel as well, quite thick but not cloyingly sweet. Apparently there is another pretty good brewery in Surrey.

From the LCBO BC pack, unsure of freshness date. Poured into a tulip glass, a burnt copper colour with a lively creamy head, good retention. 4

S – grapefruit, quite candy/gummy like, red berries, sweet, fair bit of caramel malt to it, strawberry, very full of juicy fruit, also maybe a hint of some pine and walnuts. 3.75

T – moderate coating bitterness, with a good solid peppery finish. Notes of citrus/grapefruit, burnt toast, strong floral tones, some tropical fruit notes, orange, herbal character with a solid malty and caramel profile, leading to a very peppery finish. 3.75

M – smooth moderate body, fairly full for style, quite a lot of carbonation actually, coating bitterness to it and also a lot of spicy presence, full satisfying presence with some citrusy hops and crisp malty body. 4

A fairly good all-round IPA, would like to see how it is fresh, judging by this there would be a lot of gorgeous tropical citrus and hop character to it. Balance is good, lot of slick spicy bitterness, the peppery note I found to really stand out, which was quite nice. As it warmed this faded though and it became more of a malt heavy ipa. Would have again for sure. 3.75

Brewer's intention here is a well-balanced English-style IPA, but generously hopped with PNW Cascade. Go figure. Even amidst the slight identity crisis, we've got a kickass IPA in front of us—balanced, yet still delivers that hop fix we long for in any true IPA.

Poured into standard pint glass from bottle.Poured flat. No head, nice enough bronze color.Nose sweet. Almonds. Where are the hops?Taste. Where are the hops? Totally malt forward. Sweet. Flat.Very disappointing. Next time I bring back beer from Canada I'll double up on Red Racer and pass on this one.

650ml bottle, procured on the way through Kamloops, with a label that looks like the old Team Canada logo, with an angular, bisected maple leaf front and center below the titular pun. Enjoyed on a lawn chair in the quiet parking lot of a Merritt, BC hotel.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, dark orange brick amber colour, with two skinny fingers of weakly foamy, and mostly underwhelmingly creamy dirty white head, which does stick around for a spell, eventually revealing some nice abstract webbed lace around the glass.

It smells of sweet grapefruit and candied oranges, certain iced tea and brown sugar notes, bready, somewhat caramelized malt, and a further crystal toffee sweetness. The taste is at least a bit more bitter, the generic citrus flesh flipping sides, joined by some pine resin, a decent, slightly biscuity caramel malt, once again abutted by some hard toffee, and an additional floral, herbal hoppiness, bordering on perfumed.

The carbonation is generally low-key, and hard to discern at times, the body just on the light side of medium weight, and plainly smooth. It finishes mostly clean, and off-dry, with a blend of waning caramel malt and soft echoes of citrus and herbal pine hops.

While easy enough to put back, given my otherwise stark environs, this was just a bit underwhelming, I'm afraid to say. The individual parts seem to measure up, but the whole seems lacking. I was hoping for some punch, or at least a friendly slap, from this offering. Maybe all those other brash BC-bred IPAs have stricken my poor widdle palate.

I originally purchased IP'eh! 3 years ago during a trip to Vancouver. Alas, that bottle was tragically destroyed in transport. But enough crying over spilled beer. In the mean time this 650mL bottle reports the beer has won the silver at the world beer cup.

Beer pours crystal clear orange amber with soda-like bubbles and no head. Faintly sweet aroma, doesn't seem to have been dry hopped or anything. Hops are delivered entirely via the mouth. And a very respectable load of English style hops there is. Secondary flavors of grainy unmalted barley. Very dry in the finish. This is actually refreshing, if not literally in the palate, then in contrast to every other PNW style IPA out there.

A - clear dark copper, two fingers of tan head retained very well, and big props for the classic 'Canada Cup' logo on the bottleS - peppery and citrus along with big caramel, mild grain and leafsT - big peppery hops, some mild pine and citrus, big caramel malty balanceM - heavier than medium, milder carbonation, a building bitterness through the finishO - big flavours but very balanced for an IPA, tasty and worth a try, i'd like to see more from this brewer in Alberta

Nose is a mix of dough malts and bread, but a nice mellow hop front, slightly sweet, quite airy. Subdued and subtle. Faint hints of chocolate malt like senses and caramel.

Palate is malt forward. Sense of solid body and chocolate milk tastes. Hop angle comes with lots of milky sweetness in the finish. Lots of good body in this, with a very good lingering tight and sweet hop presence on the aftertaste. Kind of a mix of malt rich and faint hop presence.

Overall a real interesting take, but for an IPA it's kind of buried, even for English style. A great solid milky malt backbone on this though really delivers. Drinkable, would drink this again easily. Good brew.

From a 650 ml brown bottle. Pours out a slightly hazed ruddy amber hue, creamy off-white head that settles to a thick head that retains.

Mild caramel and toasty malt on the nose, some sweet orange and grapefruit, some dry earthy pine.

Toasty malt up front in the flavour with a hint of sweet caramel, followed by earthy, spicy hops, while finishing with some citrusy grapefruit hops, with an aftertaste of dry grapefruit pith that lingers.

Mouthfeel tends towards the lighter end of medium-bodied, soft texture punctuated by pin-pricks of an assertive carbonation.

An okay IPA, no flaws with it, yet it doesn't stand out regarding the style either. Still a good drink from this one, I have no regrets, however I'm not overly inspired to pick up more in light of other options available at the moment. Noteworthy for being nicely balanced for the style, although the malt never does quite get a leg up over the hops at any time.

Appearance - Clear copper colour with an average size beige coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation showing and there is some fairly decent lacing. The head lasted for around 2-3 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Malts, caramel, hops

Taste & Mouth - There is an above average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, caramel, and grassy hops. There is also a bit of a sweet fruitiness, but not a whole lot.

Overall - A decent beer that I'm sure is much better when fresh. Reminds me a bit of the phillips hop circle, with a little less hopiness.